Desert Island Discs
BBC Radio 4
Eight tracks, a book and a luxury: what would you take to a desert island? Guests share the soundtrack of their lives.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Oct 13, 1979 • 32min
Josephine Barstow
Roy Plomley's castaway is soprano Josephine Barstow.Favourite track: Symphony No 9 by Ludwig van Beethoven
Book: Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy and Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
Luxury: Michelangelo's David
Oct 6, 1979 • 33min
Wilfred Thesiger
Roy Plomley's castaway is explorer Wilfred Thesiger.Favourite track: Pie Jesu by Gabriel Fauré
Book: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon
Luxury: Supply of acid drops
Sep 29, 1979 • 29min
Pam Ayres
Roy Plomley's castaway is poet and broadcaster Pam Ayres.Favourite track: The New St George by John & Chris Leslie
Book: The Day of the Jackal by Frederick Forsyth
Luxury: Large basket of sugared almonds
Sep 22, 1979 • 24min
Ted Allbeury
Roy Plomley's castaway is thriller writer Ted Allbeury.Favourite track: Love Is The Sweetest Thing by Al Bowlly, Ray Noble and his Orchestra
Book: The Unquiet Grave by Cyril Connolly
Luxury: Writing paper and pencils
Sep 15, 1979 • 25min
Richard Buckle
Roy Plomley's castaway is writer and critic Richard Buckle.Favourite track: Piano Quintet In A Major by Franz Schubert
Book: Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
Luxury: Paper and pencils
Sep 11, 1979 • 29min
June Mendoza
Roy Plomley's castaway is portrait painter June Mendoza.Favourite track: Spring Symphony by Benjamin Britten
Book: The Penguin Chronology of the Modern World by Neville Williams
Luxury: Canvases, brushes and paint
Sep 4, 1979 • 30min
Peter Barkworth
Roy Plomley's castaway is actor Peter Barkworth.Favourite track: Symphony No. 1 in A Flat by Edward Elgar
Book: His diaries to date
Luxury: Beautifully bound blank book and ballpoint pens
Aug 25, 1979 • 29min
Barry Norman
Roy Plomley's castaway is writer and broadcaster Barry Norman.Favourite track: Symphony No. 5 In C Minor by Ludwig van Beethoven
Book: The World of Jeeves by P G Wodehouse
Luxury: Typewriter, paper and a desk with cricket balls in the drawers
Aug 18, 1979 • 31min
Boris Christoff
Roy Plomley's castaway is opera singer Boris Christoff.Favourite track: Prendi I'Anel Ti Dono (from La Sonnambula) by Vincenzo Bellini
Book: The Poetry by Yuarroros
Aug 11, 1979 • 30min
Countess Elizabeth Longford
Roy Plomley's castaway is historian Countess Elizabeth Longford.Favourite track: Air (from Water Music Suite) by Handel/Harty
Book: Utopia by Thomas Moore
Luxury: Tapestry making kit
